Burnt Out Stars
by Caitlynnn
Summary: Eli decides to go on a adventure, along the way he runs into someone..FITZ. Somewhere along the way they team up and join forces and learn that perhaps the other isn't as bad as they thought. A story on how sometimes people are more than you think. ELITZ.


**I miss Fitz. I have also been reading too much John Green books so it inspired this. Basically what I hope you get out of this is simple: Sometimes things (people) give off the wrong impression. Humans are just so damn difficult to give people a chance. So, here is my attempt at making two rivals into something called… friendship. Hopefully you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, I don't like this whole "Teenagers aren't smart thing" I've been seeing this a lot lately. We are smart. I am making Fitz sort of deep and lost in my story. So if he is a bit OOC then I am sorry. I just don't like it when people say that teenagers can't be smart when we can be smart AND be a teenager at the same time. It's possible, definitely. I like to think I'm smart. **

**Also, I have never been to Wonderland in Toronto but from pictures I've seen it's exactly like the six flags where I currently live (California) So I'm basing off my knowledge here. This side note is important for later in the story it should all make sense. Also, my Wal-Mart carries fireworks almost all year round. So that's another thing I added from my own knowledge. **

**Dedicated to John Green for being awesome and writing Paper Towns and his other amazing books; also to Avalee (As_we_danced013) for just being my friend and listening to me bitch about my life and always supporting me in my writing. It means a lot… Also, I have done basically everything that Fitz and Eli are going to do. This was back when I didn't really care about my life and well you know the possibility of being caught. Ha. **

**I don't own Degrassi. **

"_People say friends don't destroy one another. _

_ What do they know about friends?" _

_ **-"**Game Shows Touch Our Lives," The Mountain Goats_

**I. **

Eli packed his backpack, and took his phone, taking his dad's car keys. He would have no idea that Eli took his keys. The anxiety was driving crazy. He slowly headed out the front door getting in the car. He was scared of actually turning on the car. He was afraid that turning it on would wake his parents up. Slowly but surely he got the confidence to turn the car on and actually drive out.

Downtown Toronto is still awake and alive. Eli feels alive almost infinite. The fear of being caught is a rush for hi. He tries to remember the last time he felt like this but he can't remember.

What Eli doesn't know that on the other side of town another boy waits in the dark just dying to get out of his head and world…

Two worlds collide tonight. One that you would never expect…

**II. **

The smoke filled up the closet. He coughed, and that made his sides hurt. He then inhaled again, taking another swig of the half drunken bottle of Smirnoff. His cigarette box was lying on the floor next to him, blood splattered on his pants.

"Fitz!" He heard his mom say from the upstairs. He didn't dare move. His brother would find him. He always did. This house, well apartment, was a scary place. It was like walking into a steam room full of zombies. "Where are you?" His mom yelled. He didn't care. On some nights Fitz would break into the church and sleep there. For some reason, even though the church was just a building he felt safe. Like God or whatever was actually keeping him safe. Even if he did chain smoke and drink… Regularly.

Mark Fitzgerald is no badass but a broken kid. Just as every other kid is broken.

He threw the cigarette on the ground and got up from his hiding spot in the closet and snuck out of his apartment. He wondered if the Dot was open, but he figured it wasn't Even though it was summer no one would be at the Dot. Fitz wasn't sure where he was going but he knew we needed out and he needed out now.

"God, what am I doing?" He asked, looking up at the sky. It was like every move he made it hurt him in every possible way.

He walked to his old school, Degrassi, and just stood there looking at it. He decided to sit on the steps and just look at the sky above him wondering, if the stars ever got lost in the sky. And if so how did they find their way back? It was a big sky, and every star at one point burns out and they're lost forever. Where do the burnt stars go?

Lately, Fitz had been questioning himself. Asking who is Mark Fitzgerald? Is he a burnt out star? Is he lost just lost somewhere up in the sky?

Fitz heard a screech, and he got up and hid in the bushes. Someone got out. He couldn't tell who it was but it looked like whoever it was they were on a mission.

The person got a tool out of the back of their car and walked up to the doors. The stranger stood there for a second, probably deciding what to do.

Then, a moment later the door opened and the person went in. Fitz waited a couple minutes then walked up to the door to investigate whom the hell the person was. He took a stick with him, like, that would actually help him fight off whoever was in his former school.

Fitz walked in and was in the shadows, the person put his hood down and revealed himself. Fitz almost yelled, but he stopped himself. It was Eli Goldsworthy. Obviously he was getting into his locker. He took a notebook out and another big book from his locker putting it in his backpack. Fitz just watched as Eli closed his locker and walked over to Marisol. He pried her locker open and took a small box out of his backpack and stuck it in her locker. Eli then walked a little bit down from Marisol's locker to Katie's and put another small box in her locker after prying it open. Then he disappeared around the corner.

Fitz walked over to Marisol's locker and took and opened the box. He slowly took the lid off, but it was dark and he could barely see. Grabbing his phone from his back pocket he shined it over the box. Once he saw what was inside he threw the box and his phone in the air. It was a fucking snake! Fitz felt panic run through his body. But then he realized that 1. It was dead. 2. It was dead and 3. It was… dead. Fitz pit the snake back in the box and grabbed his phone walking in the same direction as Eli, trying to get over the shock of seeing a big dead snake…

He found Eli who had opened another locker and stuck a note with a withering flower from his backpack. Fitz raised an eyebrow. Then he looked closer. It was Clare's locker. Fitz resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Eli moved down the hall into a classroom. So, Fitz took advantage and went to her locker looking at what he wrote.

"I'm sorry," It read. No signature. Just sorry.

Fitz wasn't sure what Eli was doing here. He doesn't even know why he even followed him other than his own boredom and even if he didn't want to admit it, his own curiosity.

His phone started to ring, the volume was turned up and Fitz freaked out. His mom was calling him but that didn't matter. Eli was bound to find out now. So Fitz did the manly thing and… ran. He ran and took the battery out of his phone and started to sprint down the hall.

"Who's there?" He heard Eli's voice. Fitz looked back but it was too late. He had hit Marisol's open locker.

"Oh fu-" He stopped mid-sentence putting a hand on his head. "Fuck." He finally said. Eli was right behind him but Fitz didn't want to move. "Goddamnit." He said as he slid against the lockers.

"Do my eyes deceive me or is it really Mark Fitzgerald?" He heard Eli say. Unfortunately for Eli, Fitz passed out.

**III. **

When Fitz gained consciousness he was outside on the steps with a textbook as a pillow. He looked up and saw Eli looking at a notebook, writing something down. He stared at Eli for a second.

"What happened?" Fitz grumbled.

"Before or after you stalking me?" Eli asked, still writing something in the dictionary.

"After… No. I didn't stalk you… oh god." Fitz said again, rubbing his eyeballs.

"You ran into Marisol's locker. Then I dragged you out here. I may have accidentally run you into a wall or two but no worries. You shouldn't have brain damage… oh wait." Eli deadpanned.

Fitz rolled his eyebrows. Oh Eli. "You're a saint." Fitz said, moaning in pain.

"Not as much as you as I remember." Eli said again, closing his notebook. He sighed as he looked down at Fitz. He towered over him for once.

"So. Why did you follow me here?" Eli sat down next to Fitz, but kept a good distance.

Fitz didn't say anything.

"I just came here from my apartment. I heard a screech and apparently it was you in the car." He shrugged. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to punch Eli but another part of him just wanted to sleep for a million years. Sleep is like being dead without actually being dead. It was nice change for Fitz. But he never got sleep at home. His home is life sucked.

"Ah." Eli said, getting up. Fitz looked over at Eli and Eli was just looking at all around him. It was dark, and the stars were out. It was pretty. You don't see the stars very much downtown Toronto with the lights and everything. But it was nice to just relax and watch the stars. The only problem was 1. It wasn't with girl. 2. He was sitting next to Fitz. 3. He didn't like Fitz.

"You're asking me why I'm here. Why are you here?" Fitz broke the silence and Eli looked at Fitz for a second then to his dad's car.

"I'm here to get lost." Eli answered, and then laughed. "No, actually I'm tying loose ends…. Getting revenge." He said then laughed. "Hence the snake in Katie's and Marisol's locker. You looked at them, yes?" He asked and Fitz nodded.

"Scared the shit out of me." Fitz said, cringing at the thought.

"Good. That means it will freak the girls out." Eli responded and then added, "They did wrong to Fiona and Imogen." He said and remembered he has no idea who they are. But Fitz didn't ask he just got the understanding that they were his friends.

"Let's go." Eli said after a moment, offering his hand to help Fitz up. For a moment, Fitz just looked at Eli's hand.

"Jesus, its not life or death." Eli said rolling his eyes. "Fifty years from now when you look back at your life don't you want to say you had the guts to get in the car?"

Fitz rolls his eyes and then says, "Wait. Isn't that from Transformers?"

Eli says, "Yeah, I've been hanging out with Adam. He thinks Megan Fox is hot… plus it worked." He shrugged as they head towards his dad's car.

**IV. **

Not quite sure why Eli decided to take Fitz on his journey. He was questioning himself as they made their way to the road. No one was really awake around the neighborhood. Eli looked at the clock and it was only ten-thirty. It wasn't too late, he figured, but he turned up the volume to his car. He was completely weirded out by this situation so cranking the music was the only alternative.

Fitz didn't know what to say. He just watched where Eli was going.

"Where are we going?" Fitz finally asked, breaking the silence. Eli didn't look at him, as he turned right onto the highway. "Mount Pleasant Cemetery."

Fitz just nodded. "Do you mind if I smoke in here?" He asked, taking his cigarettes out. Eli thought about it for a second. "This is my dad's car…. So, yeah." He said then grimaced. "Plus as much as I don't like you, I don't want you to get lung cancer." He sighed.

Fitz laughed and shook his head, lighting a cigarette. "I smoke to die." He said and then added, "Just don't tell God."

Eli rolled his eyes and replied, "I haven't talked to God in a long time." And he wasn't planning on to.

"Whoa, wait. Isn't there a fence at Mount Cemetery?" Fitz asked again. A little bit of fear ran through him. He already went to juvie. He didn't need to go juvie again for breaking into a cemetery.

"Maybe." Eli answered sighing again. The kid asked too many damn questions.

"Just relax." Eli said and then laughed as he reached into his backpack and popped a pill into his mouth. "I take them when I'm nervous," He explained.

"Oh yeah, sorry, I just rather not go to you know JUVIE again for breaking in since its you know ILLEGAL." Fitz deadpanned, smoking his cigarette and blowing it in Eli's face.

"Don't get caught." Eli said and then smirked, popping another pill.

"Yeah, alright." Fitz breathed, looking down at his shoes wondering if he could out run anyone with the converse he was wearing. They aren't the best running shoes.

MPC was on the outskirts of Toronto, it was dark and a bit eerie for Fitz while Eli was relaxed about the whole thing. "Have you done this before?" Fitz asked him. Eli shrugged. "Once or twice…." He didn't say anything after that.

Eli turned up the radio cranking it as loud as he could sing along to the lyrics to his favourite band, Dead Hand.

"You like them?" Fitz yelled over the music. Eli nodded, "The lead singer is no Kurt Cobain but they sort of saved my life."

It's funny how music can do that to you. Eli was sick of everyone saying how music was so stupid nowadays. Yeah, the lyrics are something to be desired but to another person that could be the thing that saves them. You may completely hate a band, but you never know if that band saved someone's life. Music is important. It doesn't matter what type of music it is because it's all-important. Obviously the band was passionate enough about their music that they're on the radio and sell actual singles. That ought to count for something.

Fitz grabbed a piece of paper from Eli's car and wrote something down on the paper then stuck it in his back pocket of his jeans.

Eli turned left and then he kept driving, turning down the volume to mute and turned off his headlights as he got onto the road, which led to the cemetery. It was dark and there was of course a bit of fog. Fitz laughed. Of course there's fog at the cemetery. It rained yesterday, but…

Eli stopped the car right on the side road. They would have to walk to the cemetery. He left the key in the ignition. He got out and grabbed his backpack and opened Fitz's door. "Lets go." He said.

Fitz thought for a second. "Or you can stay out here by yourself." Eli suggested as he closed Fitz's door and started to walk to the cemetery. For some reason Eli wasn't creeped out like he had been the couple times he went by himself. Probably because he knew that Fitz would come trailing behind him. No one wants to stay in the car in the middle of nowhere for a very long time… at least Eli wouldn't.

Sure enough he heard Fitz's footsteps. "I can't believe I am agreeing to this." Fitz mumbled to himself.

"Oh shut up." Eli rolled his eyes, rubbing his own arms because he was cold.

"So what happens if we get caught?" Fitz asked.

"Are you fucking me? You run." He answered. "But for the most part the fat guy patrols at night. I mean that is if he's not in a sugar coma from all the doughnuts he ate on his break."

That made Fitz laugh.

They finally reached the opening. And the gate was closed. "Looks like we're going to have to hop over." Eli said as he threw his backpack over the gate. "Help me out." Eli said to Fitz and he got on his knee. Eli stepped on his knee and got up and stood on the ledge.

"Give me your hand." Eli demanded. Fitz was wondering if this was really what he wanted to do. Yeah, he loved adventure. But he was trying to better his life and stay out of trouble.

"Do you trust me?" Eli asked in the darkness.

Fitz snorted, "No." And it was the truth. Eli liked that.

"Good. Then this should be fun, now give me your hand Fitzgerald so I can help you up." Fitz gave him his hand and he pulled him up which sent Eli falling down on the grass hitting his head against the nicely mowed lawn.

"Fuck!" Eli yelled and then got up to hear a laughing Fitz.

"Let's do that again." Fitz said still laughing as he grabbed Eli's backpack off the ground and handed it to him.

"Yeah… no." Eli said walking towards the back of the cemetery.

"Seriously though, you best believe that I will leave your ass if you get caught." Eli told him, making a left.

"Same to you."

Eli replied, "Good we have an agreement then." They shook on it.

It was eleven o'clock.

They headed out towards the back of the cemetery.

"Its creepy." Fitz said honestly.

Eli nodded. "I know."

They were stepping on tons of dead bodies. Their final resting place was beneath dirt that people stepped on every day. Its like they're watching you from the ground up, which made Eli shiver. He wasn't sure what he believed in, but he did believe in ghosts for sure and the thought that he was stepping on the places where dead bodies rested sort of made him sad and angry with himself. You live to die, he thought to himself. He was glad for them though. At least they get to actually rest. You can't speak ill of the dead… You can, but it's not prudent. Considering you'll be dead yourself.

"Ready?" Eli said. "Run."

And so they ran towards the back. Eli knew where he was going. Her grave was in the back. He wasn't sure why it was in the back, but of course he helped bury her and the thought made him cringe again. They ran over dead body over dead body over dead body. He wondered if the bodies could hear them and if they'd be mad.

On the other hand, Fitz just was spooked that he was actually in a cemetery with his rival. He was still wrapping his mind around it. But for the moment, this very moment, he felt invincible. Being a teenager there is so much weight. Don't break the law, don't do this, don't do that. He felt like a trapped bird. And he was reminded back to the moment where he almost stabbed Eli and the feeling of getting away with it was the reason why he did it. Even though he wasn't going to actually do it. The planning of doing something dangerous was much more fun than actually doing it. It's the thought of getting caught… it's the thought of actually living with no boundaries which is something he needs every now and then.

Fitz was sort of in a rush and he liked it. But he didn't know that Eli's girlfriend was laid here. He didn't even know he had a girlfriend before Clare.

"Here she is." Eli stopped by a tree and then used his flashlight on the tombstone. "Julia Schultz. April 22 2009." It read on the tombstone. "A beloved daughter." Fitz looked at the tombstone and Eli sat down by it smiling at it.

"Is that...?" Fitz asked but then stopped. He felt like he was intruding something private so he just walked away in the darkness. He tripped over a tombstone and he just lay down and looked at the stars, which were nice.

From his peripheral vision he saw a light and it was getting closer. He looked and it wasn't Eli. Fear ran through his body as he got up and went over to Eli and tapped on his shoulder.

"Someone's here." Fitz whispered and Eli turned off his flashlight.

"Then be quiet." Eli whispered back, leaning against Julia's tombstone.

"Dude, he's getting closer. He just turned off his light. He could be by us." Fitz said again grabbing Eli's shoulder.

"Calm down." Eli said not even worried. "We'll be fine if you keep it quiet."

Eli got up slowly then grabbed something out of his backpack and placed it on Julia's tombstone. Fitz couldn't see what it was, but he was about to ask.

"Let's go." Eli said and they started to walk.

Just then Fitz tripped over another tombstone and he yelled and that caused the guard to turn on his flashlight. He shined it right in Eli's eye.

"Hey!" The guard said and started to run towards them.

"Run!" Eli said as he picked Fitz up by his shirt jumping over tombstones. The guard was getting closer and Fitz tripped again. Eli thought about leaving him, but he sighed as he ran back and picked Fitz up again.

"Lets go!" He yelled. The guy was literally a foot behind them. Fuck he was fast! Eli thought as he started to speed up. They had reached the gate and Eli threw his backpack over and jumped up. He offered Fitz his hand again and he took it. And just like the last time Eli fell down on his back again and he yelled in pain. The guard was unlocking the gate. He couldn't find the key, which gave Eli and Fitz an extra five seconds. Eli was still on the ground and Fitz reached down and grabbed Eli's by the hand and pulled him up.

"Let's go!" He said and they ran towards the car, which was parked by the road. Eli started the car and they sped off.

Fitz after he regained his breath started laughing.

"That was fucking awesome!" He said honking Eli's horn and Eli just smirked and shook his head turning up the volume.

"I just might have a concussion." Eli said and then laughed it off. He grabbed the medicine kit from his backpack and popped in some meds for his head.

He kept everything in his backpack.

"Where to next?" Fitz asked, finally getting into this little adventure.

"Wonderland."

**V. **

It took them an hour to get to Wonderland.

Fitz was terrible at reading the map. 2. Eli trusted in Fitz to read the map. 3. Eli missed the exit.

It was 12:15.

They had reached Wonderland and drove up to the place where they would be able to park on a regular day except it was closed and the gate was closed to get into the parking area. So they stopped the car, leaving the keys in the ignition like at the cemetery.

"We walk from here." Eli said grabbing his backpack again. He left his phone in the car and took a big plastic bag and put his backpack in it. He then changed his shoes to some sort of water shoes and put his regular shoes in the plastic bag.

"Here," Eli handed him water shoes too and Fitz didn't ask but followed what Eli did. They hopped the gate… again. Avoiding the sharp "speed bumps" across the gate.

"Question…. Why water shoes?" Fitz wasn't sure if once they got in they were going swimming with the dolphins or whatever.

"You'll see." Eli said vaguely. Eli could almost here the devious smirk on Eli's face. So he rolled his eyes. Eli the ever so mysterious Eli.

The parking lot was huge. It would take them at least fifteen minutes to walk it to get to the destination where Eli was headed. They didn't talk for a while.

"Why me?" Fitz asked. God, he was asking a lot of questions tonight. It's the most Eli and Fitz talked… ever. And it was somewhat civilized.

Eli didn't answer.

"Okay we're going to have to jump here." Eli said once they got to the edge where there was a body of water, which lead to the stadium, which lead to the inside of the park.

They could die. They could drown. The many possibilities were filling both of the boy's heads.

Eli knew how to swim fortunately. His mom in seventh grade made him do a life guarding classes. He hated it, but it finally came in handy. It wasn't a huge fall… of course there was the possibility of the water being too shallow but he doubted that. Some of the trampolinist did flips into the water when they did their show. So… they should be fine, right? Eli thought to himself. He wasn't going to back out.

"Ready?" Eli whispered, as he got on the rail.

"No," Fitz answered. He felt like throwing up but he wasn't backing out either.

"Then lets go." Eli said as he took the jump. He was like a bird for a second. He was trying not to think about the possible death he might face. All he thought was this: he was free. He was alive. He felt so fucking alive. And then he hit the water. He didn't reach the bottom his backpack already floated up from being in the plastic air filled bag. He swam up and Fitz landed on top of him who sent Eli back down into the water. He knocked out for a second and Fitz freaked out. Eli was determined that he wouldn't be on the Saturday newspaper. He refused to die. He swam up gasping for air he started to swim towards the stadium. Fitz was right behind him.

Oh God, Fitz thought. The thing about water, he thought, you don't know what's lurking in it. That made him paddle faster. He was scared shitless of the water because of that reason. He tried not to think about it. He didn't want to be dragged under the undertow. He didn't want something snatching his leg in the water and eat him alive. Even though there really wasn't anything dangerous in the water just the thought was enough to trip him out. He kept swimming faster and faster.

Eli was right behind him.

They eventually found land and Eli took his backpack out of the plastic bag and he just lay down on the ground trying to catch his breath.

"Holy shit." Eli panted. "Holy. Shit." He repeated and then laughed.

Fitz just closed his eyes. He was tired.

"What time is it do you think?" Fitz asked panting.

"Probably around one." Eli answered getting up changing his shoes as well as Fitz.

They walked for a while.

"How did you escape your house?" Fitz said conversationally.

"I drugged my parents at the dinner table. I put two dissolving tablets into their drinks that would make them pass out after an hour of drinking. They won't wake up until eight in the morning probably…. That gives me plenty of time repairing any mark or dent I make on my dad's car." He laughed a little.

Fitz was sort of… proud of Eli.

"Nice." Fitz said and patted Eli on the back. "I don't need to drug my mom. She's already strung out on too many as it is." Fitz laughed, even though it was sort of… well serious.

Eli didn't say anything.

They walked a bit towards the back of the theme park. It was weird seeing everything shut down. Almost sort of a ghost town, Fitz really enjoyed it and Eli wasn't so sure what to think of it.

The adventure there was more fun than actually being there. The fun of breaking in was a rush. Eli was still wet he could feel the water in his socks and it squished around in his shoes. He cringed a little.

"So," Fitz sighed. "What do we do now?" He said to Eli who was still looking all around him. It was dark and the only source of light was their tiny flashlight.

"I'm not sure." He said honestly, he wasn't. So he sat down on the ground in Wonderland.

He looked up at the stars and he wondered, how many can the sky hold before it was too much?

Fitz sat down with Eli and they looked at them together. It weirded them both out but it was quiet and for once it felt… nice.

"Hey!" They heard a voice and Eli turned off the flashlight. He slowly got up and then so did Fitz. "When I say run, you run." Eli whispered. Fitz just nodded.

The guard was shinning his light and it got Fitz in the eye and he started running without Eli and he tripped and fell down the gravel. Eli came up from behind and grabbed by the arms and pulled him up and they ran towards the water. The guard was right behind them and Eli stuck the backpack in the plastic bag and they started to swim across the water. The guard was too much of a wuss to get in the water so he called back up to meet the boys on the other side. They had their flashlights shinning on the boys. Eli wasn't sure what they should do. Fitz was treading water and Eli was trying to gasp for air. There was no way out without being caught. So Eli devised a plan.

"Okay here's what we're going to do." He said, still gasping for air. "I am going to fake that I'm hurt and that should freak them out enough. I want you to punch one of them and start to run and I will follow right after." Eli said quickly as he started to swim to the land and so that's what they did.

Once they got to land. Eli started to slowly walk up to them and Eli fell down and he started to scream in pain. Fitz bent down and leaned over him then in one motion he hit one of the guards and he started to run. Eli hit the other who was standing over him and he started to run after Fitz. It was a long way across the parking lot and they could hear the guys running after them. Eli was panting and so was Fitz by the time Eli got into the drivers seat and he pulled out in a quick motion. He speeded out and Fitz's pulse was running a mile an hour.

"I swear to God I'm having a heart attack." Fitz put a hand on his heart. "Oh my God I can't breathe." He started to pant hard and then he coughed.

"Whoa. If you're going to throw up then do it in plastic bag." Eli handed him the bag and Fitz didn't throw up.

Eli kept driving until they reached a safe place…

**VI. **

"I plan on escaping the madness soon." Eli didn't even look at Fitz. He didn't say anything after. To a certain degree Fitz could agree with that. He couldn't wait until he finished his online schooling so he could get on with his life out of his house.

They were still on the side of the road and Fitz had finally caught his breath.

It was 2:00.

"Okay here's what we're going to do." Eli said and then turned to Fitz. "When I say three we are going to blurt out someone who did us wrong and we are going to prank them."

"One," Eli said, "Two… three."

And they replied: You.

They were shocked and then they laughed and Eli smirked at Fitz.

So this was their plan: They'd both help prank each other. But really Fitz wanted to abuse the power. He wanted to be pranked. He wanted to piss his mom off and he wanted to set his brother on fire. It was hard for him to love his family. His dad wasn't even around anymore. Its not like they'd care if they died anyways. His family was miserable. Fitz found it hard to praise the Almighty God when his life was shit. But he talked to people and they said that 1. You will always go through trouble. Just because you accept God into your life doesn't mean that your problems go away. 2. God is always there for you; sometimes you just have to depend on Him. 3. Fitz was a dude. He hated to depend on people. BUT: 4. He was trying.

Eli drove to Brockton Village turned off Dufferin Grove and went to the Wal-Mart Super Centre. It was 2:30.

Fitz grabbed a cart and they went in heading towards the back. "Okay, we're going to need fireworks." Eli said, looking at the small list he made for himself.

"Also I'm getting tired so we're going to need energy drinks."

They split ways. Fitz was on energy drinks Eli was on fireworks. Not that they would have some at Wal-Mart but he was going to check. He had a smirk on his face as he went towards the back.

He found small fireworks that only last about five seconds. He was stuck in a predicament. He wasn't sure how he could pull this prank off if it only worked for five seconds. It was too bad that they didn't carry more. He shook his head as he grabbed the whole package and he went to go get lighter fluid. He grabbed a bottle and put it in the cart.

Fitz met him at the front. He had energy drinks and jerky in his hands and they put it in the cart. Luckily there wasn't a long line considering it was almost three o'clock.

"Lighter fluid?" Fitz raised an eyebrow and Eli nodded. "Yes, lighter fluid. We're going to need it." Eli said putting the stuff on the counter for the lady to ring up.

"So…" The lady said, "What are you plan on doing with this stuff?" The lady asked bagging the stuff.

"I have no idea." Fitz answered. "I'm just following his lead." He shrugged towards Eli who paid for the stuff.

Once they got in the car Fitz gave Eli the energy drink and he drank the whole thing in a minute flat. "Thanks," He said and then asked for another one. In three hours it would be six and the sun would be slowly rising.

They only had three hours.

"So…" Fitz said looking at the stuff.

"Are you going to tell me what the lighter fluid is for?" He said taking it out and then Eli nodded his head.

"But first I need you to somehow combine all of the small fireworks together in groups of two." He said and Fitz didn't question but just followed along.

He wasn't sure how to really combine them together so he just tied the ends with rubber bands that Eli bought.

"Okay," Fitz showed Eli his creation and he just nodded. Eli wasn't sure where Fitz lived so Fitz had to give some instructions to get there. The light to his apartment was still on. Fitz didn't worry about it. His mom was probably passed out. She probably was on her tenth beer and her puke surrounding her. His brother was probably getting high somewhere. He never came home and when he did he abused the living shit out of Fitz.

Eli stopped a block away from Fitz's apartment and explained what they were going to do.

Which was this: Fitz was going to light the first firework concoction and it would take about ten seconds before it would actually blow up which gave Fitz just a little bit of time to escape without getting burned. He would throw it at the open window and then another one in the backyard. The plan wasn't to try to light really anything on fire. Mostly just to scare the shit out of his mom. It wasn't devious just something simple.

Eli and Fitz got the lighter fluid and drowned the fireworks in it. They started to slowly walk up to the house and Fitz managed to sneak in the small "backyard" that they had. The window to his mom's room was still open and he could hear the TV playing in the background. He lit the first firework and then threw it to the window and he ran to the side of the house and sure enough in five seconds he heard the explosion and his mom's scream. He laughed and then he got ready to light another one. His brother's room's window was open but the lights were off. He grabbed the lighter and lit it and threw it at the window. It fucking missed and Fitz saw it just in time that he moved out of the way, but it erupted and the sparks hit Fitz's leg.

"FUCK!" He yelled and then grabbed another one and lit another one and aimed it better to his brother's window. It went in and in five seconds it went off and he heard his brother and his fuck buddy scream. The lights went on in their room and he saw a glimpse of his brother looking out the window shirt off and everything Fitz ducked his head and started to run out climbing over the fence.

His yelled at him, but he had no idea it was Fitz. The escape was easy. Eli was waiting in the car for Fitz.

"GO!" Fitz yelled because he didn't want to be caught. Eli was laughing but started the car and they drove off.

**VII. **

"That was pretty good Emo boy." Fitz said after a while. Eli didn't say anything.

Fitz was quiet for a while and then looked for that paper and he grabbed it and looked at it for a while. He wasn't sure what would happen between Eli and Fitz by the end of the night. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Because they weren't friends. He wasn't sure if they would ever be friends. But as far as Fitz could tell they weren't enemies either. He sort of enjoyed having Eli's company. Not that he would bow down and kiss his ass or whatever but just because he understood. It was weird-their relationship.

He looked at the paper and then back at Eli.

"Can I ask you something?" Fitz said looking down at the paper.

"You already are." Eli said and Fitz rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, okay, smartass. But what did you mean by, like, the madness or whatever…?" He didn't look at Eli as he drove to his house.

Eli was thinking what to really say. He didn't mean to blurt it out but he did. For a while Eli felt like he was living a lie. Like everything was super fake around him and he hated that feeling. He hated feeling restricted or confined in a small space. The reason why he planned on doing something "adventurous" was to see if the life he lived was what he really wanted for the rest of his life. Because he wasn't happy… he wasn't sure if he would ever be happy. Love didn't satisfy him. Neither of any of his "friends" that he claimed to have.

"I don't want to be found." Eli said simply. "I don't hate my life. I love my parents. I mean other than going crazy and my girlfriend dying I really have nothing to complain about." He turned his signal going right.

Eli felt trapped. Everyone was living to die. That's how life works. You live your life, you work hard, and you go through heartbreak all to die.

Fitz had a few things on his mind but he didn't say anything. He wasn't sure why he wanted to know. The whole thing was weird for him. There were many things he could say but he bit his tongue. He wasn't going to tell Eli that he could relate. He wasn't going to say that he should stay and stick around for a while. What's the point? Its not like Eli would listen to him anyways. He wasn't going to ask about his girlfriend. He really didn't want to know about Eli's ghost. Just like Eli probably didn't care to know about Fitz's ghost. They are ghosts for a reason. They come out at night when you least expect them. Sometimes they'll be your friends, or perhaps you'll use them for a crutch. But for the most part, ghosts like to stay hidden.

"I gave up on the idea of running away." Fitz said shrugging. "People try too hard to find the lost anyways." He said, and he thought about his dad. Fitz gave up on trying to connect and find his dad again.

And what surprised Fitz most was this: "Sometimes people don't want to be found." Eli said this in a monotone and it was quiet.

Instead of pranking Eli's parents Eli decided to take him to an abandoned building that he always found interesting and he got a deeper meaning from it whenever he went. It was just a building. But it was an empty building. He wasn't sure why he loved it so much but he did. He always went there when he felt lonely or depressed. He wanted to take Clare there but he decided against it. He found it after Julia died. His parents weren't sure on how to really handle Eli after Julia died so they told him to do whatever he needed to, to get better. And going to the building worked for a while. He spray painted the building with quotes and weird drawings he fancied. It smelt pretty bad in there. At first the building was creepy, he was scared he was going to stumble across a dead body or something in there. But he remembered something… he remembered how bad he wanted to hide Julia's body in the building. Although her parents would never allow it he just wanted to lay her body in the building as some sort of symbolism or something. He wasn't sure. He just wanted it to be the last place she ever laid with him. He wanted to tell her he was sorry. It was the type of place that you would imagine Julia at. She would have loved it.

"Let's go." Eli stopped the car in front of the abandoned building. The fuck? Fitz thought but he stopped trying to understand Eli and just went along with it. Fitz wasn't sure he'd ever figure Eli out. He was scared trying. Eli just wasn't the type of person you'd ever figure out. He seemed okay by that.

Once they got near it, Eli used his foot to kick down the door. He then grabbed his flashlight and went in. It was as big as two Wal-Mart super centres. He wasn't sure what the building originally was. But it was out in the middle of nowhere and he really liked it.

The stench really hit Fitz and he coughed, barfing in his mouth. How could Eli stand the smell?

Eli did gag a little the smell was odd to him too. It didn't usually smell like this…

They walked a bit and Eli turned off the flashlight. For the most part there wasn't a bunch of stuff you could trip over and they kept walking until Eli ran into something.

"Oww." He said and then he reached out and touched it.

It was… a shoe?

He turned on the flashlight and he was not prepared for what he saw.

A dead body hanging. Fitz yelled and Eli backed away a little.

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Fitz screamed and then he did barf.

Eli was panicking and he didn't know what to do. There was a dead body in here and he noticed a small little letter by her feet and he knew that it was a suicide.

"Okay we need to get out of here." Fitz grabbed Eli's hand and started to tug.

"Eli we need to get out of here!" Fitz had yelled at him and Eli just nodded. He was still in shock and looked at the ropes. She hung herself from the second floor of the building. He wanted to know how long it took her to find this place and if she found it before Eli. He figured her body was a couple days old and he felt sad and yet intrigued. But it was mostly the shock of a dead body right in front of him. He wanted to cry but he held it back. He wasn't sure why he was so emotional over it. It was either because he was super tired or he sometimes felt like doing that too to himself.

Eli went back with Fitz who was freaking out all the way to the car.

Fitz was scarred. Eli was getting used to it.

It was 4:30. It would take them until five to get back home.

"I'm sorry." Eli said, apologizing about the body. Fitz wasn't sure what to say for once. He didn't say anything but just nodded.

The night was ending and Fitz wasn't sure how to react to it. Because something happened inside of Fitz. He felt different now. He felt like he was in some sort of dream and he knew he would probably forget about it once he woke up. He didn't like this feeling he felt. He would miss hanging out with Eli and that by far almost scared him more than the body. And it wasn't because he hated Eli. Because he didn't hate Eli. He never really did. He loathed him but he didn't hate him. He wasn't sure what it was but some part of him wanted to get to know Eli and another part of him cautioned to not even try. He didn't want Eli's friendship; he wanted Eli's presence.

That sounded weird to him and he was still trying to figure it out why he wanted Eli's presence. He figured he knew why. Eli knew what it was like to feel lost somehow. The world was big and filled with millions of people and it's easy to just fade in the background. That's all that Fitz did lately was fade. Once he thought about it his scars started to hurt. He remembered that once he left the car that he would have to go back to his life. He would have to go back to a mom who didn't love him or a brother who beat the shit out of him and he would wonder where his father was… because he was just as lost as his father. Its funny how a couple hours can change a person. But it's scary also. Things change in an instance. You don't even realize it until its too late.

Eli on the other hand was already changed. After seeing the dead body he was convinced on what he needed to do. The body didn't really scare him. It did, but not in the way people would think. It scared him because he realized that the girl broke and she was just like Eli. All the strings inside of her broke. Perhaps all the strings inside of Eli broke too. He was burnt out. And he didn't want to be.

It was about 5:00 by the time Eli dropped Fitz off. They didn't even say goodbye Fitz just got out of the car and nodded at Eli.

Eli watched Fitz walk up to his door and watched it close. The sun was barely coming up and Eli noticed a paper on Fitz's seat…

And what was written down floored Eli forever…

**VIII. **

A week later Eli went missing.

Fitz heard about it at the Dot. CeCe came in and asked if she could hang up signs about him in the window. Fitz said he'd have to ask his boss.

For a few minutes Fitz just looked at the picture and the description. Last seen was the night of their adventure. For a moment Fitz freaked out but then remembered, "Sometimes people don't want to be found."

He shook his head after he got the okay to put the poster of Eli up.

Later that night he was in the closet chain smoking when the doorbell rang. He didn't want to get up but his mom was passed out on the couch so he had to get it.

He walked over to the door and no one was there. He looked down and saw a box. He raised an eyebrow and picked it up. There was a dead snake and Fitz shook his head smirking a bit.

There was also a note, which he opened and read:

_You left this paper in my dad's car. Figured that it deserved an answer. So here it is; you asked do stars burn out and where do they go? And do stars ever get lost? Personally, I thought it was deep. I was surprised to hear it from you honestly, but it got me thinking and then my actions were confirmed. _

_You're not my friend Fitz. You won't ever be, but I am at peace with you now. Like an understanding of some sort, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I don't want to be found. Not yet. I saw the posters around town and I'm officially leaving tonight after I sneak my dad's car back. _

_I want you to do something for me, since I saved your ass twice on our little adventure. I want you to tell my parents that I'm going to California. Even though that's not where I'm going. I'm not even sure where I'm going but I'm not staying in Toronto. I need out. I'm still deciding if I should kill myself. I probably wont. Some part of me wants to be searched for and found. What I'm trying to say is, like Cassius in the play Julius Ceaser, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but in ourselves, that we are underlings." Perhaps stars choose to make themselves lost as I do myself. It seems cocky of me to compare myself to stars because they're beautiful but your thought made a valid point. _

_I know you asked me why I wanted you to come on my trip. Stop asking. I don't have an answer. But I can tell you this: I'm not lost. I know my way back. And I don't know if I want to come back. I'm selfish and a risk taker. But you? You have potential to be something great. Yeah, you almost stabbed me and all but if you want to make something of yourself you need to get out of that damn house. You don't deserve to be a burnt out star. No one does. Burnt out stars don't have a choice to be burnt out or not. The universe is cruel to its sky. But you do have a choice. I made mine. I hope you make yours too. And I hope you choose wisely._

_I'd love to say that I'd be watching, but 1. That sounds creepy. 2. I have better things to do than invest my time on watching you when you I could be doing something miraculous with my life… like running away. Just kidding. Maybe. _

_You probably won't hear from me again. You probably don't mind. I just figured… Why not answer? _

_I don't know how to end this. But… see you later, Fitz. _

_-Eli Goldsworthy. _

"See you later Eli."

He folded up the note and stuck it in his back pocket and closed the door…

**THE END. **

**Holy crap. **

**Longest story I have ever written. **

**Review? **


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